Family Dispute

Jin and Minato Namikaze exchanged insights on cultivating Basic Inner Cultivation.

For the most part, Jin spoke while Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki listened.

He shared details on how to accumulate Chakra, increase combat power, and strengthen the body over time.

Jin also shared his own experience.

Minato Namikaze thoughtfully considered the details.

Kushina Uzumaki was equally serious. She had completed the first layer only with great difficulty; the Nine-Tails' Chakra inside her always caused trouble, and she had yet to subdue the Nine-Tails.

However, Basic Inner Cultivation could actually help stabilize the seal within her body, making her pay even more attention to this secret technique.

Jin had truly gone to great lengths for the two of them.

As long as either of them successfully advanced, Jin would be able to advance smoothly as well.

Moreover, teaching others what he had deduced brought benefits far beyond simply allowing him to advance.

The knowledge generated through their cultivation would appear in his mind in ways he could not comprehend, becoming the underlying logical code for future deductions.

He had only learned this last night, after Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had gotten started.

There was not much to discuss about the first layer, so they quickly finished.

With anticipation for the future, he bid the two of them farewell.

"See you tomorrow."

Minato Namikaze waved with a smile. Kushina Uzumaki directly turned her head away, her lips pouting high. The sight of Minato Namikaze greeting him made her furious, and she grabbed him and dragged him toward home.

She felt as though some hateful Uchiha was stealing away her little brother.

It was infuriating.

"A tsundere girl and a gentle guy. Heh."

Jin stroked his chin as he watched the two in the distance and sighed.

What kind of tired old pairing was this? The one who completely failed to understand romance had actually become the girl.

"Guess that counts as innovation."

Still, he wanted to find a tsundere blonde and a gentle, long-haired black-haired girl. He just had to make sure they never met.

Looking at the darkening sky, Jin felt a faint chill carried by the breeze.

Jin headed toward the Uchiha Clan Compound.

At present, the Uchiha Clan Compound was still located in an important area of Konoha. Although a rebellion during the Second Hokage's time had forced them to move some distance away from Konoha's center, it was still in a prosperous district.

As for why it was moved to the outskirts later on, that was because of the Nine-Tails.

After all, those Sharingan eyes on the Nine-Tails later on had left the Uchiha with mud in their pants—there was simply no way to explain it.

Just as he entered the compound, Jin was stopped.

"It's him, Brother Hachidai."

Uchiha Hiru angrily pointed at Jin while speaking to a man with short brown hair and distinctive markings beside his eyes.

Not only had he failed to bully Jin, but he had even let him sleep peacefully through an entire class.

As a result, Jin's evaluation had been a zero.

These three little brats had come looking for trouble.

They had even brought a jonin with them. Were they looking for trouble, or were they trying to kill someone?

And they had picked the wrong person, too.

"Brother Hachidai, they bullied me!"

Jin immediately put on an aggrieved expression. Tears fell the instant he wanted them to, without the slightest hesitation.

Anyone who saw him would say the child was pitiful.

But Hachidai was not included.

"Little Jin, you've used that trick so many times. Could you at least try a different one?" Hachidai scratched his face awkwardly.

At least don't be this perfunctory.

Jin pulled this stunt at least five or six times a year. Hachidai was no longer so easily fooled.

"Tch." Jin curled his lip.

"Brother Hachidai, he just tched at you!!" Hiru frantically pointed at Jin, looking as anxious as a dog that could see a bone but could not get it.

Seeing Hachidai's attitude, he had thought they would not be able to make him teach Jin a lesson. Now that he had finally spotted some hope—

"Little Hiru." Hachidai rubbed Hiru's head. "Uchiha must not bully the weak. That is wrong."

Unfortunately, Hachidai was the gentle sort.

"Alright, alright, Uncle Hachidai. If there's nothing else, hurry up and leave. We kids can settle our own matters." Jin impatiently shooed Hachidai away.

Hachidai could only sigh helplessly. When Jin needed him, he was Brother Hachidai; when he did not, he was Uncle Hachidai.

This kid was really practical.

"Show me at least a little respect."

"Are you leaving or not?" Jin bared his teeth in a threatening grin.

Hachidai was helpless too. If he dared meddle here, Jin would dare go complain about him to his wife. Jin had done that plenty of times before, though that had been before Hachidai got married. Now that he was married, things were different.

How could a jonin be afraid of a Ninja Academy Student?

"Fine, fine, I'm leaving. Right away."

Hachidai had only been married for a short time. He couldn't let this little bastard come over and cause trouble again. Besides, he had been dragged here against his will.

"What Uchiha lost must be reclaimed by Uchiha themselves."

He wasn't worried about Jin. Though Jin couldn't use ninjutsu, his taijutsu was far from weak. When Hachidai patrolled the forest, he had seen Jin fighting wild beasts.

This brat was actually very hardworking. It was just a pity about his talent.

"Don't go too far," Hachidai still said.

"Don't worry, Brother Hachidai. We won't go too far." Hiru and the other two grinned viciously. This wasn't the Academy, where they had to fight one-on-one.

After seeing Jin's strength when dealing with Ido, they truly had no confidence in a one-on-one fight. They weren't stupid, so they turned to find help.

Since no one would stand up for them, they couldn't blame them for joining forces.

"He was talking to me." Jin's voice suddenly sounded beside Hiru's ear. Jin stood behind him, holding up a hand blade.

When did he—

Smack! A hand blade came down. Hiru rolled his eyes back and collapsed to the ground.

"You bastard!" Uchiha Mu'i pulled out a kunai and charged forward.

Jin shifted half his body aside to evade Mu'i's attack, then drove a knee into his stomach.

Mu'i's eyes rolled back as well, and he fell facedown, unconscious.

Jin turned his gaze toward Uchiha Ido, who had also drawn a kunai.

Seeing Jin look at him, Ido directly threw the kunai in his hand onto the ground and lay flat on the floor.

An Uchiha didn't suffer an immediate loss.

"Smart."

Jin clapped his hands.

Hachidai, who had not gone far, turned back to look. The victor had already been decided.

What a pity. A ninja who only had taijutsu could never become strong.

Jin would have plenty of hardships ahead of him.

Jin didn't care what they thought, nor did he care about the three people lying on the ground. He slowly walked home.

After returning home.

Jin began preparing dinner. After bustling about in the kitchen for half the day, he finally made a few dishes from his previous life.

The main issue was that the variety of food in the Naruto World was simply too limited. It was the same few dishes over and over, and he was sick of them.

Although ordinary ninjas lived off instant noodles, he had come from a nation of gourmet food. Eating instant noodles every day was unbearable.

"If I fail at cultivating immortality, I'll find a way to retire. Opening a shop would definitely make money."

His purpose in establishing Basic Inner Cultivation was to transition into immortal cultivation later. This world had natural Chakra, after all. Which of those sages in the great summoning lands hadn't lived for a thousand years?

In theory, with the wonders of Chakra, immortal cultivation was feasible.

Not to mention that thing hanging in the sky—ageless and immortal. Even when it was dealt with, it had been sealed rather than killed.

"Immortal cultivation has great potential."

Carrying the dishes back to the living room, Jin had originally planned to enjoy a nice meal. But there was now a young man with short black hair in the living room, and the expression on Jin's face vanished.

He placed the dishes on the table and sat upright across from the young man.

"I wonder what brings Young Clan Head Fugaku here."

Fugaku Uchiha, the current clan head's only son, was also the crucial factor who would inherit the Uchiha and lead them into destruction.

Yet Jin had become a peripheral figure within the Uchiha because of his talent. Under normal circumstances, he shouldn't have drawn the Young Clan Head's attention.

Though his parents had enjoyed great prestige within the Uchiha, once people died, their influence faded like a lamp going out. Only a few had shown him kindness, and the clan head's family was not among them.

"Have you been in contact with Kushina Uzumaki lately?"

Fugaku's voice was low and heavy.

"So what if I have? That has nothing to do with the clan, does it?"

Jin also realized the real reason the other party had come looking for him: Kushina, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Tailed beasts were strategic weapons and would inevitably draw the attention of many. Naturally, the Uchiha were among them.

Hashirama Senju's act of distributing the tailed beasts for the sake of peace was fundamentally not wrong. The key issue was that the tailed beasts could not inflict truly devastating damage.

Every village possessed the power to contend with tailed beasts. Naturally, they were concerned about the danger tailed beasts posed, but they were not terrified of them. As a result, the deterrent effect of the tailed beasts could not take shape.

Try replacing them with nuclear bombs. If every household had nuclear bombs, let's see who would dare fire one. It would wipe out an entire village outright.

Watching Jin's unconcerned expression, Fugaku warned him in a low voice.

"Stay away from her."

The Uchiha could not bear the village's suspicion. Jin might not know about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but which of the higher-ups did not?

Yet Jin lost his usual playful grin. His face went blank as he picked up his chopsticks and tapped their ends together.

"Who I'm close to has nothing to do with you, does it? You're meddling too much."

Fugaku frowned slightly. He did not particularly like Uchiha like Jin, who had such poor talent. Perhaps Jin understood that the weight of this name was not so easily borne.

"This is an order."

"An order?"

Jin bared his teeth in a smile, but there was not a trace of mirth in his eyes. With a smack, he slapped his chopsticks onto the table.

"Young Clan Head Fugaku, you sure think highly of yourself. Don't think that just because I call you Young Clan Head, you're really the clan head. Ordering me around? What gives you the right?"

Just as Fugaku disliked Jin, Jin did not think much of Fugaku either. Indecisive and unable to see the way forward—Fugaku would bear half the responsibility for the Uchiha's destruction in the future.

The other half would fall on his son.

Without that family, the Uchiha could have lived another fifty years.

"You—!!" Furious, Fugaku slammed both hands onto the table with a bang, making the dishes tremble. His face darkened like the bottom of a pot.

Jin remained utterly unfazed as he continued mocking him openly.

"The Young Clan Head wants to establish his authority using trash like me? You really bring honor to the Uchiha."

"I—!!" Fugaku forcibly suppressed his anger. He had simply had too little contact with Jin. Already not good with words, how could he possibly argue with Jin?

He could not outcurse him, and if he fought him, he would truly lose face.

"I won't ask the Young Clan Head to stay for dinner. After all, I didn't prepare a bowl or chopsticks for you."

Jin shot him a sidelong glance and calmly used his chopsticks to pick up some food.

"Hmph." Fugaku snorted coldly, and they parted on bad terms.

Left alone, Jin used his chopsticks to pick up a peanut from the Kung Pao chicken.

"Trying to control me? Even becoming clan head wouldn't be enough!"